how to remove mac adware cleaner pop up window

Hi Dinah,

You can scan as often as you like. MalwareBytes for Mac only takes up system resources when run. When you close it, it's done. Not like normal AV software that runs the entire time you computer is on.

EtreCheck is another useful tool for this. It started out as a utility to take a snapshot of your system and all running processes. It has also been used thousands of times by users of these forums and elsewhere. The author, etresoft (a member of these forums), has somewhat recently added the ability to remove adware and other invasive apps it finds. It used to only mark them and it was then up to you to figure out how to remove the junk.

But the basic answer is, be careful where you download from. Avoid aggregate sites like Softonic, downloads.com, etc. Much of what you get from them installs adware along with the software you want to try. I do use them, but only to find software titles. After I find what I'd like to try, I go directly to the vendor's web site and download it from there.

Snow Leopard is a great OS, but it's also hopelessly out of date. It, and Safari in that version are greatly behind on security updates. Firefox is dropping support for Snow Leopard soon (if they haven't already). And so is Chrome. There will essentially be no browser security protection for SL. How far you can upgrade the OS depends on the model Mac you have.

Thank you Kurt for responding. That is great information about downloads, and generally speaking I seldom even used the download, except for PDF's for work, but again, it only takes once and you can get zapped. 🙂

I have trouble using Firefox and Chrome, so I don't even have those. I use Safari only. I was going to upgrade my OS but at the time, and an Apple support person helped me. It deleted almost all of my images and some of the programs I used so I went back to Snow Leopard. It was a mess, and now I'm a bit apprehensive about upgrading to another OS.

I have a late 2008 MacBook Pro. What would be the least invasive OS that would allow me to keep my images in tact and not lose Preview?

Regards,
Dinah

Thank you Kurt. I just got off the phone with Apple Support and I have Maverick, and it's fine, so now that you have helped me rid my laptop of the adware nonsense, I think that is all on the agenda for now. My 2008 doesn't have enough space for El Capitan or Sierra, and since I also do not have a cell phone, or watch, and have no plans on acquiring them, we will just carry on with Maverick. 🙂 After all I got my first Apple in 8 boxes back in the 80s (wish I still had that one), so I tend to stick with what works for me.

Vintage all the way

Dinah

Yes, I believe Apple is still supporting Mavericks with security updates, so you can stay there if you wish. When it drops, you'll want to upgrade to El Capitan (your Mac can't install Sierra). From the sounds of it, you'll have to put in a larger drive. But by that point, you may have already upgraded to newer hardware.

I'll confess that the instructions above are on the techie-side for me ... not being a person who reads or understands code (though i'm trying to learn!!)

Are there more layman's instructions? ALSO -- i found another set of directions via Google search and think it actually prompts you to download yet another software to deal with this -- obviously i ignored and looked for answers from the Apple community site instead. Man, so many ways to get messed up out there. I confess I've become complacent about viruses since abandoning PCs (required for work), so I need to wake up.

Oh GOOD FOR YOU!! How lucky is that! Mine were in lots of boxes and very boxy, not cool like the clam, but I did have an orange one years later. LOVED IT!! That is so cool. Not jealous at all, very happy for you.

Dinah

Remove Browser Pop-up Problems

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.0.1.7

Adblock Plus 1.8.9, GlimmerBlocker, or AdBlock

Remove adware that displays pop-up ads and graphics on your Mac

How to remove the FlashMall adware from OS X

Helpful Links Regarding Malware Problems

If you are having an immediate problem with ads popping up see The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Guide, remove adware that displays pop-up ads and graphics on your Mac, and MalwareBytes for Mac. If you require anti-virus protection Thomas Reed recommends using ClamXAV. (Thank you to Thomas Reed for this recommendation.) You might consider adding this Safari extensions: Adblock Plus 1.8.9.

Open Safari, select Preferences from the Safari menu. Click on Extensions icon in the toolbar. Disable all Extensions. If this stops your problem, then re-enable them one by one until the problem returns. Now remove that extension as it is causing the problem.

The following comes from user stevejobsfan0123. I have made minor changes to adapt to this presentation.

Fix Some Browser Pop-ups That Take Over Safari.

Common pop-ups include a message saying the government has seized your computer and you must pay to have it released (often called "Moneypak"), or a phony message saying that your computer has been infected, and you need to call a tech support number (sometimes claiming to be Apple) to get it resolved. First, understand that these pop-ups are not caused by a virus and your computer has not been affected. This "hijack" is limited to your web browser. Also understand that these messages are scams, so do not pay any money, call the listed number, or provide any personal information. This article will outline the solution to dismiss the pop-up.

Quit Safari

Usually, these pop-ups will not go away by either clicking "OK" or "Cancel." Furthermore, several menus in the menu bar may become disabled and show in gray, including the option to quit Safari. You will likely have to force quit Safari. To do this, press Command + option + esc, select Safari, and press Force Quit.

Relaunch Safari

If you relaunch Safari, the page will reopen. To prevent this from happening, hold down the 'Shift' key while opening Safari. This will prevent windows from the last time Safari was running from reopening.

This will not work in all cases. The shift key must be held at the right time, and in some cases, even if done correctly, the window reappears. In these circumstances, after force quitting Safari, turn off Wi-Fi or disconnect Ethernet, depending on how you connect to the Internet. Then relaunch Safari normally. It will try to reload the malicious webpage, but without a connection, it won't be able to. Navigate away from that page by entering a different URL, i.e. www.apple.com, and trying to load it. Now you can reconnect to the Internet, and the page you entered will appear rather than the malicious one.

A

First, never use any kind of "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" software on a Mac. That's how you create problems, not how you solve them.

B

You may have installed a fake "utility" called "Advanced Mac Cleaner." Like any software that purports to automatically "clean up" or "speed up" a Mac, it's a scam, and some variants of it are ad-injection malware.

To remove it, please take the steps below. Some of the files listed may be absent in your case. Back up all data before proceeding.

Malware is always changing to get around the defenses against it. This procedure works as of now, as far as I know. It may not work in the future. Anyone finding this comment a few days or more after it was posted should look for a more recent discussion, or start a new one.

If you paid for the software with a credit card, consider reporting the charge to the bank as fraudulent.

Step 1

Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

~/Library/LaunchAgents

Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select

Services ▹ Open

from the contextual menu.* A folder named "LaunchAgents" may open. If it does, look inside it for files with a name that begins in either of these ways:

com.pcv.

com.WebShoppy

Move any such file to the Trash.

*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select

Go ▹ Go to Folder...

from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You may not see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

Step 2

Open this folder as in Step 1:

/Library/LaunchAgents

Inside it there may be one or more files with a name beginning in

com.WebTools

If so, move those files, and only those, to the Trash. You may be prompted for your administrator login password.

Don't delete the LaunchAgents folder or anything else inside it.

Log out or restart the computer.

Step 3

Open the Applications folder and move an item named "Advanced Mac Cleaner" (if it's present) to the Trash. Also remove any items with a name such as "Shoppy" or "WebShoppy." Empty the Trash.

Step 4

In the Extensions tab of the Safari preferences window, uninstall an extension named "XSearch" if it's present. Also remove any other extensions that you don't know you need. If in doubt, remove all of them. None is required for normal operation. You may have to do the equivalent in the Chrome and Firefox browsers, if you use either of those.

Step 5

The malware is now permanently inactivated, provided that you don't reinstall it. This step is optional.

Delete the following items, if they exist, as in Step 1:

/Library/Application Support/amc

~/Library/AdvancedMacCleaner

~/Library/Application Support/WebTools

There's no need to log out or restart after taking this step.

The problem may have started when you downloaded something, such as the application "FileZilla," from the "Sourceforge" website or some other Internet cesspit. Never visit that site again. All software should be downloaded only from the developer's website or from the Mac App Store, if applicable.

C

Links have been posted in this thread to the "macupdate" website. Do not follow the links, and never download anything from that site. It intentionally distributes OS X malware by packaging some free applications (such as "Firefox" and "Skype") in an unnecessary and malicious "installer."

All software should be downloaded directly from the developer's website or from the App Store. Don't trust any site such as "macupdate" that aggregates links.

If what it's saying is "Recommended download, install mac adware cleaner" then you haven't installed anything. So no need to be alarmed. Follow Kappy's good advice, you need only concern yourself with getting rid of the pop-up window.

The responses I got here; are they from Apple support people?

Absolutely not. The name of the site is very misleading. The responses you get here could come from anyone at all, and are not endorsed by Apple. Never forget that.

From my experience, you aren't suppose to put anything on the mac especially anit virus or anti spyware programs.

You couldn't be more right. The problem was caused by installing unknown, unnecessary software for no good reason. As long as you don't make that mistake, you'll be fine. Only install software that directly helps you to do something useful with the computer, such as a word processor, video editor, game, or the like. You didn't buy a computer so that you could "clean" it or scan it for malware, and you never need software to help you do that.

There are no Apple support people here. Everyone is just a user like yourself including the person whose advise you chose to use. Note that he often expresses only personal opinions many of which have no special proof and are not Apple approved any more than other advice you find here.

There is nothing inherently wrong with installing programs on your computer to locate and remove adware. They save a lot of time in ridding your computer of malware. You don't NEED anti-malware software, but that does not mean the same thing as "never install." If Apple's awesome product had it covered, then you wouldn't have a problem with adware. Don't simply be conned into believing a long post that sounds authoritative is necessarily best advice.

very helpful, thank you! Dang Sourceforge / FileZilla.